Walking on Broken Glass
by terfle
Summary: Buckingham is about to get a nasty surprise one night. Milady is back & she wants revenge. An elaboration and alternate ending of a scene from the musical
1. Chapter 1

The wind blew softly though the open window, the white silk curtain billowing in the breeze. Everything was still; the only sound to be heard was his quiet rhythmic snores. The moon peeked in and silently lit up the scene, highlighting the prostrate form in the four poster bed, his sword and dressing gown carelessly kicked off to the side. Slivers of light shone to the corners of the room and for a moment, a dark figure was glimpsed, waiting. The moon decided this was the time to disappear and out it went, leaving the imprint of the stealthy intruder by the door. There was the scent of danger in the air, the breeze blew down and the owls stopped their incessant hooting.

Cautiously she crept to the bed, bare feet making only the softest of sound. Hearing the snoring, she thought she was in luck. The fool was drunk up to the hilt and wouldn't be capable of resisting much. She untied the rope around her waist and leaned over him, lifting his arms to the bedstead and deftly winding it around, securing it with a tight knot. That should sort him out.

Buckingham felt a pleasant tickling sensation and a hint of a smile ghosted across his face. It reminded him of something, but he couldn't remember what. He blearily opened his eyes and let the light in, focused on the wall ahead of him. Closed his eyes again, sleepily went to stretch. Stopped abruptly.

Something was wrong.

His eyes snapped open.

She was sitting on the end of the bed, long legs crossed, eyes narrowed. Watching him.


	2. Chapter 2

He tried to get up but the rope on his wrists wouldn't let him. He fell back, insides curling up with horror. What had he done? Drunk too much wine at the ball and left himself easy prey to her advances. He hadn't remembered seeing her on the dance floor. But then again, everyone was masked. He looked at her feet, hoping to remember her shoes. Women could always be recognised from their shoes. But she was barefoot, long straight toes twitching irritably. He had never seen her look less than flawless; so bare with naked feet. No matter, she looked perfect. Cruel but perfectly beautiful even though devoid of the mask of cosmetics. Her clear eyes shone through the glimmer of scorn on her face and he could almost fool himself that he was back in love with her. His friend's widow.

He had broken many of the commandments many times before but that was nothing compared to the seventh, _do not covet thy neighbour's possessions. _He could betray his oldest friend, Baron de Winter, for a night with his wife. He did in the end. And she had played him mercilessly.

'What do you want?' His voice was shaky, showing his nerves, stretching taunt as the ropes holding him there. He felt as helpless as a baby.

'Good evening. Nice to see you Buckingham.' Her voice was low, mocking. She sat there, smiling, making no move to untie him. She had got him right where she wanted him. He hadn't recognised her at the masked ball, wearing all black. She knew he'd be able to recognise her from her heeled laced up boots so they were hidden quietly in the corner of the room along with her feathered mask. She wasn't taking any chances.

'What do you want?' He tried to stop the trembling in his voice.

'Simple request, where did you hide the diamonds?' It was a casual question in a very dangerous tone of voice.

He couldn't tell her. He couldn't. His beloved Queen's life depended on it.

She uncurled herself and crept towards him across the sheets, slinky as a panther. The sweat stood out on his brow and he stuttered incoherently, his terror seeping from every pore. She reached him and leaned over, strands of hair tickling his cheek. Deliberately she laid her cool white hands on his temples and stroked gently down. He screamed in his head to get out but his body was tied down. He knew if he stayed here, his resolve would weaken considerably.

'I, I...I'm not telling you.' His voice was faint, almost pleading for her not to know. He saw the disdain in her face.

In one swift movement, she straddled him and got down to business.


	3. Chapter 3

'Tell me about these musketeers.'

'What do you want to know?'

'Who they are, what they are doing here and what their intention towards the Queen is.'

'The Queen is the sweetest, kindest person in this place' choked Buckingham, feeling the tears. He couldn't let anything happen to the woman he loved, no matter that she was married to the King.

Milady slowly tittered at this ridiculous statement. 'Foolish, sentimental man' she said, almost tenderly as her fingers stroked his cheek. He tried to resist but the strength of the ropes bound him to this she-wolf and her magic touch. He could have cried with frustration. Her fingers crept down, down to the night shirt and its uncomplicated buttons.

Feeling the warm weight of her on his body, memories from a recent evening began to surface when he and some friends went out and ended the night out paying some whores down by the docks. He had a good time with his woman, he could remember. He enjoyed every minute of it. The way she had got on top and excited him to heating point was invading his mind. He had now remembered what he had found so similar a situation when he first woke up. He had thought of going to her again not long ago. He became painfully aware of his physical response to the feel of her skin against his, his hands, trapped in the coils of rope, itched to touch her. She was torturing him in an exquisitely painful way.

'So, the musketeers. Carry on.' Her fingers crept ever closer, further down, the softest of touches. He tried to ignore it but the more she tickled, the more he couldn't control his breathing. He couldn't speak, the numbed sensation he had previously felt was melting away into something highly flammable and extremely dangerous. He gasped as she dug her nails into his shoulder, leaving a small crescent scratch. He felt she was going to open him up, bit by bit, working her way through his skin, until she got to his heart, which she would be more than obliged to tear apart.

'They are employed to protect the Queen and her affairs. And myself' he managed to blurt out; just as he felt her fingers reach where he feared she would physically do the most damage.

She stopped, tilted her head slightly to the side, all the better to observe his panic.

'Indeed. And what of her affairs? Would it be with you and her diamonds? I hear she is a self obsessed person who thinks of very little else.' She smiled vindictively, her target now truly getting wound up.

'There is nothing of the sort going on between us.'

'But there was,' she played with his shirt collar.

'Not any more' he whispered, fearful of what she might do if she found out.


	4. Chapter 4

'Let's not pretend you don't have feelings for her.'

She knew. She knew everything.

'So how about you give me the diamonds and nothing more will be said about it? She'll make up a story about them, her husband will believe her and you will carry on pretending that the English Channel will be enough to separate your affections.'

'You won't find them.'

'Installed a safe under the building have we? With extra locks and round the clock protection? I doubt it.' She smiled thinly.

'My guards know you are here' he tried to bluff. 'You won't get out so easily.'

She mocked his pathetic attempt at assertiveness. 'I didn't credit to you with such brains, Buckingham. You certainly didn't show them to me last time we were alone.'

He remembered the last time they were alone, the touch of her skin, her silky hair, whispered words seducing his senses. It had been the most intense night he had known for a long time, made even more so when he realised how she had betrayed him, days later.

'That was a mistake.' His voice trembled, about to give his discomfort away. 'You and I, it was wrong. We did something wrong.'

She shook her head scornfully. 'Not like you to develop a conscience after all this time Buckingham.'

'How can you excuse it?'

Her quiet laugh chilled him. She leaned in closer. 'You loved every minute of it. Don't lie. You weren't thinking of the Queen when you were with me.'

The beads of sweat were forming rapidly on his brow as he tried to answer. But she knew. She had known he was thinking only of her that intoxicating night.

'It takes two, remember Buckingham?' She prompted him.

'You coerced me. I swear it was never my intention' he protested vehemently, a little too late.

'What a load of bullshit. You didn't protest for one minute. You initiated the whole thing' she reminded him witheringly.

'I didn't know what was to come of it' he whimpered.

'It's a bit late for that now!' She hissed, eyes boring into him.

'How can you dismiss it so easily, like he never mattered?' His arms were beginning to ache badly, the strain tensing his muscles and threading up to his neck, winding up his spine and through his shoulders. He slumped back to ease the twinge. 'He was your husband.'

'So was another at one time but he also abandoned me.'

Another husband? How did this woman collect all of these?

'What happened to him? Did he find out about you being the bitch that you are and threw you out? Or did he die from the hatred seeping from your pores?' He knew it was a bad idea but the temptation to taunt her for her failures to keep any one of her husband overrode his fear for a second. He was too close to the truth for her to dismiss it. Furiously, she unhitched herself from his tied up form and started prowling around the room for a clue to the whereabouts of the diamonds. He fervently wished she would untie him and leave but that wasn't going to happen.


	5. Chapter 5

She prowled around, a silently irate figure. He could feel the heat sear off of her from here. How long would it be when someone would come to discover him, trussed to the bed like a chicken? She turned her head slightly and looked at him in the eye, smirked at the panic suffusing his face. She approached him menacingly. His heart plummeted. She was getting nearer. Leaning over him and placing a cool finger on his lips, she reminded him with a look that if he mentioned this to anyone, he could expect more than just dishonour next time. They knew both of their lives were at stake if this burglary was found out. Her for stealing the diamonds and him for letting her. He trembled violently; she could feel it through her fingertips. She traced his lips, keeping her sight on him. He couldn't look away from her beautiful vindictive eyes that shone so clear in the moonlight, wild as a wolf. How could he have ever thought she was so meek? She had deceived him as surely as a mad hatter. Her touch glided up to his eyes and he blinked furiously, fearful of what she might do. He wouldn't past her to blind him. She used a finger on his eyelids to lightly close them. He didn't resist.

'Do you dream of her?'

Surprised by the question, he kept his eyes closed, the answer whirling round his head. Of course he did, among other things. He wasn't in the habit of disclosing his dreams. But she could get anything out of anyone.

'Are you jealous? Jealous that Queen holds my love?'

He heard the slow laugh that swirled the black around his head into dizziness. Was she? She had never shown any interest in the Queen before. He felt the space between them sharpen as she tickled his ear softly when she whispered the obvious._ 'You flatter yourself too much.' _He could hear the mirth in her voice all too well. He dared not open his eyes, listening to the rustling and rummaging in his wardrobe and drawers. Inspected the bed, under and over and between the mattresses. She was a meticulous worker. He could only hope she wouldn't discover the place the diamonds were kept. He was prepared for a common burglar. But you could never be prepared for Milady. 


	6. Chapter 6

'Buckingham? Is everything alright? I heard a noise somewhere around here.'

He took the orders she wordlessly signalled to him. Feeling like a fool, he started snoring loudly. They could both hear the hesitation behind the door, the guard wasn't entirely deceived. He probably knew that Buckingham wasn't such a loud sleeper. They waited for him to leave, breath almost transparent with fear, for two different reasons. He stole a glance at her, immobile by the windowsill, a gazelle caught in the moonlight. She turned her head and fixed him with a stare so intense he felt it scorch his heart. She shook her head imperceptibly at something and started walking to the other corner of the room, feet making no noise across the wooden floor. She retrieved her black boots and mask where it was and headed to the bed. She could hear the guard's breathing from behind the door. She was taking no chances. His theatrical snores got lower and quieter as she approached him. Without touching him, she started unravelling the rope binding his arms. Strands of hair unwound from the band keeping them together and shimmered fine as spider web as she leaned over him. How badly he wanted to free his hands and run his fingers through that mane like he did that night. He could feel himself reacting to it the more he remembered and willed himself to stop. She had already seen how it had aroused him and he didn't intend it to be a hold over him. But fine principles in theory, were destroyed once she came anywhere near him.

He dared not move in case it was a trick. Held his breath, certain that she could hear the hammering of his heart.

She was finishing up when they heard low voices outside the room, consulting on what to do. The guard had called someone and they had obviously thought Buckingham had slipped into a coma due to his drinking binge tonight and was debating on whether breaking down the door would be beneficial in the long run. It wasn't long until they decided it was and started using all their strength to bust the door from its hinges.

She sighed in exasperation and abandoned her task to run to the window, throw her extra things out and climb up herself. Balancing on the windowsill, she looked over her shoulder to where Buckingham was still sitting, arms unwound from the ropes. He didn't do anything, just looked ahead of him, as if in a trance.


	7. Chapter 7

The slab below her wobbled worryingly. She fell backwards and hit the sofa below with a muffled thump. The men outside were getting insistent and the door was splintering slowly. She needed to get out of here, fast. Reaching up to the windowsill again, she noticed the gap. Ignoring the scene behind her, she pushed it up it to reveal the hollow in the wall encasing its secret. She caught her breath triumphantly. She had found what she was looking for.

It was a small and flat rectangle, heavy to hold. Peeking through the gap in the lid, the sparkle of the diamonds hit her eyes. The Queen certainly liked her jewels. She turned around to face Buckingham, fingers tapping on the precious box. His eyes widened in horror, terrible stuttering were coming from his mouth but not an actual word he could speak. A scornful smile played about her lips as she took one last look at him, shook the box playfully and slid it into the folds of silken hair, secured by her hair band. As slinky as a cat, she leapt up onto the windowsill and glanced over her shoulder, eyebrows raised. The door gave way just as she disappeared through the window.

Buckingham was frozen to the spot. The game was up. She had won with the diamonds and now all was lost.

The guards crashed through the door and stared at the scene before them. He was half sitting on his bed, half clothed, surrounded by rope on all sides. They couldn't speak, deducing this to be some kinky game he was playing.

The silence was deafening. Buckingham looked over at the window, curtains blowing in the night air, silent and empty like she had never been there. He looked back at the guards. He couldn't think of what to say.

'Erm. It's not what it looks like.'


End file.
